Perhaps you are trying to decide if publishing a book via Lulu is right for you. I have previously created a Lulu hardcover and here are my impressions of the book.
A while back I wrote a children’s book. Well, not so much a children’s book, but a book specifically for my son. It was based on a bedtime story that had evolved improvisation-ally over a few nights. It got to the point where I had to repeat the same made-up story every night for a few weeks. I thought I would make that fun little ritual into a permanent memory by turning the story into a book.
I had to make a choice on publishing, and in the end selected Lulu for this particular project. Why? One reason. The cover.
Since this was a book for my 4 year old, I knew the book had to be durable, and my normal go-to publisher blurb only offers full color covers as a dust jacket. Dust jackets and 4-year-olds go together like paper and scissors. Its not pretty.
So, if you can actually create a book with Lulu (which in my experience is a lot more difficult than Blurb — you have to know how, and be able, to properly create a PDF to certain technical requirements, for one), it is a good choice if you need a full color cover, and excellent printing.
First, lets examine the cover itself. With Lulu you can opt for a “casewrap” cover. This means that the cover is full-color and glossy, bonded right to the hardcover itself. This makes for an attractive, durable finish. After a year it has stood up well to the abuses afforded it by a young kid. You can feel the ink on the cover. Printed areas, especially black lines make a distinct bump on the page as you slide your finger over it.
Inside of the cover you can see that the binding is a linen or cloth.
Looking inside the book, you can see that the pages are stitched together. Some other book makers (most photo-book producers) just glue the pages into the book.
This is also evident looking at the bottom of the book, you can see that the book is stitched together. A stitched binding is likely to be more secure than just adhesive over the long term.
The printing also seems to be different that in other services. This article on kk.org notes that the printer is a Xerox iGen3, which uses a different process than blurb.
Compared to Blurb, the “dots” that make up the image are much, much smaller. Even the best eyes will have difficulty discerning the individual dots that make up the image. I had to use a magnifying glass in order to get this picture.
The paper used for the individual pages are not glossy or reflective — which is different than the photo book services. This is because Lulu books are not specifically photo books, but more general purpose books. For example, the books could also be used to publish a novel, and you don’t want glossy paper for that. That said, the paper used is durable, bright and not flimsy.
I couldn’t capture a picture of it, but the printing process does have slight variations in the reflectivity of ink/toner used in the printing process. Solid black is EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY glossier than other colors. this is very, very slight. I only noticed it under scrutiny for writing this post. it may be due to the dry-toner process. This may also be true of other solid colors… my illustrations were watercolors so the colors are not as rich as a photo might be.
Once you get the final product, you’ll find a book printed by Lulu is a quality product. I found the actual book creation process to be more difficult than my other photo books, and required more technical expertise to get the book created. It may not be satisfactory for a photo book as the pages are not as heavy or glossy, but the books are well made and are “real” books.
Here are the details on the book, directly from Lulu:
8.25″ x 10.75″, casewrap-hardcover binding, 80# white interior paper, full-color interior ink, 100# white exterior paper, full-color exterior ink
[tags] lulu, blurb, self-publishing, book[/tags]
19 responses so far ↓
Charles Sheehan-Miles // Mar 1, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Hello, and thanks for this posting. I’ve been thinking about putting together some books I wrote for my kids a couple years ago and getting them real bindings, and this looks like just the trick.
How much did the 4-color book cost?
mdelgaudio // Mar 1, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Hi Charles, thanks for stopping by. This book is pretty short, and therefore not too expensive — 31 pages, $21.66.
I say not too expensive, in that it is a great souvenir for my kids, but I doubt I could get anyone to shell out $21 bucks for a kids book.
Charles Sheehan-Miles // Mar 1, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Yeah, I agree — wouldnt work as a publishing venture, but might be spectacular to make a book for the kids or something for the family. Thanks!
Jeni // Mar 14, 2007 at 8:15 am
I just finished writing a Children’s Book for my mom’s 60th birthday. You answered all the questions I had.
What does 4-color book mean?
Someone is drawing pictures for my book, should they only use 4 colors?
Thanks!
mdelgaudio // Mar 14, 2007 at 9:00 am
Hi Jeni, Thanks for visiting. The four color process actually allows you to print the entire color range, so your illustrator can use pretty much any color he/she wants within reason — some super-vibrant colors might not appear quite as vibrant as you might expect compared to the illustration. The number four just refers to the number of inks that are mixed together to create the final image. For example, if you have a color ink-jet printer to print photos — that probably uses 4 ink colors to reproduce all the colors in the photo.
Here is the wikipedia article on Four-color printing
I hope this helps.
Jeni // Mar 27, 2007 at 8:48 am
Thanks Mike. It is possible to just print a copy from Lulu.com without publishing it? If not, do you know any companies that will print it without publishing it?
Thanks!
mdelgaudio // Mar 27, 2007 at 10:53 am
Jeni, Both Blurb and Lulu will allow you to order copies only for yourself, without letting anyone else purchase them.
anna // May 2, 2007 at 6:46 am
I found your review extremely helpful, and thank you so much. It addressed exactly my questions about book construction, paper, and colour quality. You have pretty much convinced me to try lulu.com for my children’s book; now I must learn more about creating on pdf.
Have you or anyone you know had any experience with marketing books published/printed by lulu.com, please?
Irina // Sep 28, 2007 at 2:32 am
Thank you for such detailed reviews. Very helpful! Can you tell me more about blurb’s software? Why does it make it easier to publish your book? Thank you!
Irina // Sep 28, 2007 at 2:36 am
one more question :-) .. on one of the sites i saw “20 page (10 sheet).” So now I am wondering when lulu and blurb say “pages” do they mean “sheets”? Thanks again!
suzi // Mar 16, 2008 at 12:18 am
many thanks for the review. this is just what I’m after. I’ve previously used blurb, but as I’m a designer found the process to be tedious in that I can’t export out of indesign as a pdf. Sounds like with lulu you can! also like the fact that the cover is printed and not a dust jacket.
Many thanks!
Chris Ridley // Apr 10, 2008 at 6:58 am
Great article - helpful for me making choices, thanks
Rusty // Aug 4, 2008 at 10:35 am
Liked the article. Thanks! I’d like to do a book like this. What software did you use to layout the pages of the book with illustrations and text?
Shannon Larratt is Zentastic › New edition of the ModCon book…? // Aug 6, 2008 at 7:57 pm
[…] Found this review of Lulu’s quality with some better […]
Giovanni // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Thanks, very informative. Anyone for hire out there who can layout and then set-up my book for lulu at a reasonable rate?
Jade // Oct 1, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Thank you for the insight on Lulu. I have a photo book that i need publishing, and it sounds like Lulu isn’t a great choice. Appreciate the advice.
Danny Mittelman // Oct 23, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hi! Thanks for the article. Not only I have I been thinking of writing some short stories, but I was in need of services that publish a decent photo book for my pool company — now I know the differences. Thanks =)
Candace // Oct 24, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Hi There! Great article with FAB detail!
In regards to Jade’s comment you should check out this link…
http://www.lulu.com/en/help/index.php?fSymbol=photobook_faq
Lulu has specific set up for “Photobooks” on “silk coated, 80# paper” It isn’t “glossy” but the price is hard to beat.
I am a graphic designer, and I do set up books if anyone is interested.
candy_graphics@powergate.ca
Cheers :-)
Dominic // May 9, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I recently published a book through Lulu and I am totally satisfied. I did not expect such a quality book for the price. :O)
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